Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is not an exaggeration to say that budget 2022 ghosted agriculture. By and large, it did not feature. I accept that schemes were rolled over and some small but very welcome investments were made in forestry, organic farming, etc., but there was nothing new. There was nothing substantial for a sector that is supposed to do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to reducing emissions. Current programmes will not deliver those reductions. Farmers were waiting for policy options and support in the interim between now and the start of the new Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, in 2023. If past experience is anything to go by, it can take quite a period of time for a lot of those programmes to bed in.

Farmers have been promised a just transition. What is the evidence of change so far? The evidence is we are importing peat from Latvia. Latvia is in the European Union and it has the same laws as we have. We are importing wood from Scotland. There is a real possibility of significantly increasing the importation of tonnages of beef from Brazil. That is the reality on the ground for farmers.

It was not just that agriculture was overlooked when it came to new supports. The sting in the tail is when it comes for example to the reduction in the flat rate VAT, from 5.6% to 5.5%. While 0.1% does not sound like much, it means €7 million to farmers.

It was also the fact that €49 million in carbon tax receipts that was supposed to go into agriculture have been deferred to social welfare. Is there no policy or programme to support the agricultural sector in decarbonising? A statement from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine tells us: "The needs of the Department of Agriculture for 2022 were met without recourse to carbon tax. This is simply a matter of scheduling." The needs of the Department may have been met, but the needs of farmers were not. There is a narrative out there that we wait for the CAP and it will sort out all the problems. I am running out of time, but I will outline one fact: 25% of the basic payment on which farmers rely is now for eco schemes under increased requirements. Farmers are being asked to do more with less.

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